I took it home a few times from the post CWS festivities. Worked out really well. That time of night is considered "peak" so they suggest tipping 75% to help get more drivers on the road. Even with that charge my ride from the stadium to my house in Midtown was 12 bucks. Basically the same as a cab maybe a little more. Plus the drivers offered us bottles of water and were super friendly.

Every driver I have ridden with from Uber or Lyft in Omaha has been 40+. May be coincidence though as I've only taken around 7-10 rides. In Chicago the couple of rides I took were from younger drivers.

Andrew Moylan, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute think tank, has examined ride-sharing regulations around the country and doesn’t see a clear partisan divide. On Monday, R Street and Engine, a group advocating policies that support start-ups, will release a report card rating the 50 largest cities on their friendliness to ride sharing. The eight cities receiving failing grades include ones in blue areas (Philadelphia and Portland, Ore.) and red ones (Omaha, Phoenix and San Antonio).

Uber entered the Cedar Rapids IA market on Dec 4. They have been in Iowa City and Des Moines a little longer. Here is a Story from The Cedar Rapids Gazette that I found interesting. The story is written that , to me any way, it sounds like the parties involved there are working to find a solution rather than saying THIS DOESN'T WORK

Uber drivers drive their own vehicles and are summoned by customers via a smartphone app. The city of Des Moines, though, is concerned that Uber’s level of insurance coverage is available once the driver answers a customer request for a ride, but is inadequate during times when the driver has the Uber app turned on while driving around waiting for a customer request, McCoy said.

At the same time, she said some Iowa insurance representatives have told the city of Des Moines that an Uber driver’s own insurance coverage does not or might not protect the Uber driver if the Uber app on the phone is turned on and no Uber customer is in the car. In other words, the Uber driver might not have insurance coverage during that period, she said.

Maria Johnson, Communications Division manager for the city of Cedar Rapids, on Friday said the city still is early in the formation of its ordinance to regulate Uber and other transportation “networks.” The city is looking to treat Uber and its service under a new ordinance and not under the city’s taxi ordinance, she said.

The city of Iowa City is working on its taxi ordinance in anticipation of Uber bringing its service there, and Simon Andrew, administrative assistant to the Iowa City city manager, said this week that the proposed ordinance amendment generally follows Uber’s position on insurance coverage.

CEDAR RAPIDS — Uber, the taxi-like service that connects riders to drivers via an app on their mobile phone, began business in Cedar Rapids on Thursday.

The move came even as city officials — who have been meeting with Uber officials for some time — had asked the company to wait until the city adopted a new regulatory ordinance to address the latest thing in transportation services.

However, Mayor Ron Corbett and Jasmine Almoayed, the city’s economic development liaison, said Thursday that the city is enthused by Uber’s arrival and the new transportation business model the company brings with it.

However, Almoayed said Cedar Rapids is creating a new ordinance different from its existing taxi ordinance to address transportation “networks” — which she said is the city’s view of what Uber is — and how it differs from taxis and limousines covered under a current city ordinance.

Corbett and Almoayed both said Uber is not in violation of the city’s current taxi and limousine ordinance because Uber’s service is not a taxi service.

“Cities across the country are updating ordinances to meet the new business model,” Corbett said.

One of the cab companies must have been giving free rides last weekend. I drive for Lyft and picked up two separate groups that said they were waiting for a free cab and gave up.

Thank you cab companies for putting the idea in peoples minds that they should get a safe ride. Myself and fellow Lyft drivers will be happy to supply that service and do it in a nice, fun, inexpensive way.

MTO wrote:You should uber the Brad-copter at the next Berkshire event.

FBI wasn't happy with us flying around the CWS this year and Berkshire is a bigger event. Wouldn't surprise me if there was a TFR around the CenturyLink center for Berkshire. They may add one next year for the CWS.

MTO wrote:From what I understand business travelers are using uber more than taxis, at least in major population centers.

Makes sense. I've used Uber quite a few times when traveling on business. They send an email receipt, so expense reporting is much easier. And they have connections with Concur and American Express to make the process even more seamless for businesses that use those providers. I get status updates prior to the driver's arrival, payment is all handled through the app so no waiting around at the destination, and the Uber rides I've taken have all been in much nicer vehicles than any cab I've ever been in.

For most business travelers -- and even leisure riders -- it's easy to see why people would choose Uber/Lyft over the "legacy" taxi services.

Uber is more responsive to customers' needs than cab companies. Cab companies have spent decades basically writing the regulations which govern their industry with the goal of squelching any type of competition before it can establish itself. The Uber model has largely either worked around those protections or has inspired such popular support that the political class has had no choice but to acquiesce and not proscribe ride sharing services. The battles over Uber in New York and Portland have been interesting to watch (not to mention the crazy European stuff.)

I totally agree. I drink a lot of water and Offering a bottle of water these days is a huge gesture of hospitality. I judge a restaurant on the waiter's attention to my water glass. In fact I will put extra on my tip (which is always 15%+) if my wait does so. If my ride offered me water, I would do the same!